Means for preventing theft of brasses from railway journal-boxes.



. 'PATENTED FEB. 20, 1906.

E. J; NOBLBTT.

MEAN$ FOR PREVENTING THEFT 0F BRASSES FROM RAILWAY JOURNAL BOXES APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1904.

" nr'rnn srnrns PATEN' (inn-ICE: j

I EDWARD J. NoBLErr, OF CHICAGO; ILLINOIS, .f MEANS FOR PREVENTING .THEFT orfamssrs FROM RAILWAYlOURNAL-BQXES. I

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented-Feb. 20, 1906.

Application filed July 29, 1904. a Serial No. 218,66'l.

To all whom; it may concermg I Be it known that.I,'EDwARD'J. NOBLETT, a citizen of the United States,and a resident ofv the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois," have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Preventing Theft of Brassesv from' RailWay Journaldeclare that the foldescription to the ac.-

Boxes; and I do hereb ofthe same, reference-being had compan ying drawings, and tofthe letters of I reference marked'thereon, which form a part ThlSlhVGIllllOll relates more particularly to a construction whereby the brasses of railway journal-boxes are protected from thefts or unauthorized removal. V

Heretofore serious accidents have fre quently occurred owing to. the fact that tramps, strikers, and others have pried up one or. moreof the journal-boxes of a car or cars sufiiciently to'permit the removal of the brasses, Infrequent instances. great losses have been entailed to railway companies owin to the damage resultingto the jour-. nals om moving the cars before such loss is detectedor from wrecks occasioned thereby.

.In some instances many of the carsona sid .mg or in a yard have been robbed at the same time of their brasses- Such thefts have been encouraged by the construction of the journal-boxes and by the method of securing the brasses"'tl'ierein, for it is only necessary to a raise the journal-box a small f'ractir :1 of an any of the standard or Master Carinafterdescribed} inch+a simple lever, such as a short-piece of wood or scantling, will sufiice for thisto permit the brasses to be removed. v

The object of this invention is to provide a look so constructed and positioned as to af-- fo'rd fi ee movement of the journal under the normal movement of the car, but preventing the removal or displacement of the brasses unless the lock is first released.

It is'also an objectof this invention to provide a construction adapted to be a plied to uilders ournal-boxes now in use and as readily adaptable to old boxes as to new.

The invention consists in the matters hereand more fully pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical lon gitudinal section of a, journal-box provided with a device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a section "taken on line2 2 of Fig; 1. Fig. 3 is w trspecfive View of the locking device,

axle end or journal.

- journal ends,

' arranged oppositely in plate box. Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken longi tudinally of the bolt. Fig. 5 is a central transv verse sectionof the-same.

' As shown in said drawings, A indicates the B indicates thebrass supported thereon.-:

V B indicatesthe cap secured upon the brass and on which the top 'of the journal-boXC rests. Said journal box, as shown, is the usual or Master Car-Builders type and is pro vided in each side of the same with a plate 0, which in old boxes is riveted to the'inner' side of the journalebox above and laterally of the and in new boxes may be cast" integrally thereon. Each of said plates is provided with a r'ela'tivelydep bolt-socket c, the journal-box and adapted toireceive the ends of the lockin bolt, (indicated as a whole by D.) Said b0 t, as shown, comprises a .flat' tubular casin (Z, of steel and of considerable thickness to a 0rd rigidity and having secured in one end of the same a rigid-bolt d, adapted to be seated in one of the ,bolt-socketaand at the other end is provided with a slidable bolt D','theinner edge'of which is inclined to admit of forcing the bolt into engagement in the bolt-socket oppositely disposed from thatin which the end-d is secured. Asshown, said slidable bolt Dand the rigidly-secured bolt (1 are shaped at their inner ends to lap past each other, thereby greatly stifiening the construction. A key aperture is rovided through, the outer side of the casing adapted to ermit-a key, such as an ordinary switch ey, to be inserted into ositive enga ement with the inner end of the sliding 50 t' D, which is notched, as shown, for engiagem'ent therewith. The key may be of any esired type or form. a in d is seated in position to entera bore 0 the stalk or stem of th miliar manner. Seated in a longitudinal erture in said sliding As shown, however;

one end of which englages against t e outer end of said bolt and t e other of which is rig- Idl? bo t T is normally held in an extended 0' having either been castlwithin the j ournal-box or' secured therein by 'rivet' the end of the bolt (2 is first inserted in sai socket and the oppositeor slidabl'e bolt D is" 11 0 pressed inwardly,

e keyin afa-,

engaged on the casing (1, whereby said g position. 105' he operation is as followsz Ays'ecketedsnapping-into its socket in the oppositely-disposed .plate. 'When in.

showing the same detached the 'j0u1'na1; I

a -'IOO bolt D'is a s ring d place, the lock is sufliciently beyond the end of the journal to preclude the possibility of contact therewith and extends sufficiently below the top of the journal to render it impossible for the brasses to be-removed with out first removing the loeking-bar Obviously many details oi" construction may be varied without departing from the principles of my invention.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination with a journal-box, having oppositely-disposed seats on the inner faces of the side walls thereof of a retractable bolt engaged at its end in said seats.

I 2. The combinationwith acar journal-box,

its journal and brasses of longitudinally-extensible means adapted to engage in seats in the side Walls of the box and acting to prevent removal of the brasses.

The combination with a car journal-box of locking mechanismtherein engaging the nner face of each side wall and adapted-to retain the brass therein,

4. The combination with. a car journal-box haying inwardly-opening seats in the side walls thereof of an expansible lockin -bolt adapted to engage at its ends in said seats and means for decreasing the length of the bolt to permit its removal.

5. The combination with a journal-box provided with inwardly-opening seats in the side walls thereof of an extensible lockingbolt engaged at its ends therein beyond and extending below the bearing and means for retracting one end of the bolt fro? its seat.

6, '11 a car journal-box havi. g inwardlyopening seats in the opposite sides thereof beyond the end of and adjacent the upper side of the journal of a longitudinally-retractable locking-bolt adapted to fit in said seats and acting to prevent the removal of the brasses. 7. The combination with a journal and the brass therefor of a journal-box having an inwardly-opening seat in each side thereof, a

mechanism adapted to engage the inner surface of the side walls of the box and means for withdrawing one end of the same from such engagement.

9. In a device of the class described; the combination with a journal-box of a detachable lock comprising a sheet-metal casing and a key-operated springbolt slidably se cured therein and adapted to engage in the sides of said journal-box.

10. The combination with a journal-box of a lock comprising a strong sheet-metal casing, a rigid bolt in one end. thereof, a slidable spring-controlled bolt in the other, the inner ends of said bolts overlapping said slidable bolt adapted to be retracted by a key.-

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

EDWARD J NOBLETT.

Witnesses C. W. HrLLs, W. W. WIITHENBU'RY. 

